Chris Messina’s Wife Is Producer Jennifer Todd – Inside Their Marriage

Chris Messina, known for his diverse acting roles, has a thriving career in the entertainment industry. At the same time, his wife, Jennifer Todd, is an accomplished producer who plays a significant role behind the scenes.

Chris Messina was a theatre actor getting juicy parts in New York City when a role in the sixth season of “Six Feet Under” changed his career trajectory. He moved to Los Angeles to focus on movies and series and soon got typecast as the nice guy.

He played the role of jilted fiancé in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and the husband of Jennifer Aniston and Amy Adams in “Cake” and “Julie & Julia,” respectively.

On television, he got to flex his acting chops as the grumpy but kind OB-GYN Dr. Danny Castellano in “The Mindy Project,” and got to go gritty in “Sharp Objects” as Detective Richard Willis and Nick Hass in season three of “The Sinner.”

Recently Chris joined Kaley Cuoco in the thriller-comedy on Peacock’s “Based on a True Story” to lampoon America’s obsession with true crime and “the slow-close toilet seat.”

As the actor’s career experienced success, so did his personal life, as his partner is also in the entertainment industry. The Los Angeles-based couple has three children and has ensured no photos of their kids are in the public domain.

Chris was married in the mid-1990s. He was married to actress Rosemarie DeWitt for most of his twenties between 1995 and 2006. The exes, natives of New York, did not have children in their 11-year marriage. There is little information about their relationship as they were together before fame.

Rosemarie met her second husband, Ron Livingston, on the set of “Standoff,” where they played a pair of hostage negotiators in its one-season from 2016 to 2017. PEOPLE reported that the couple married on November 2, 2009, in San Francisco.

Ron is best known for “Office Space” and portraying Jack Berger, Carrie Bradshaw’s love interest in “Sex and the City,” who infamously dumped her on a sticky note.

The pair announced that they adopted Gracie James Livingston in 2013. Rosemarie revealed in December 2016 that they had adopted their second daughter, Esperanza Mae Livingston, a year prior.

Rosemarie has a varied career, from playing Rachel in the independent film “Rachel Getting Married,” for which she won the 2009 OFTA Film Award for Best Breakthrough Performance: Female, to the big-budget musical “La La Land.”

Rashida Jones has held up her friend Jennifer’s relationship with Chris as an example of how one can be in a committed relationship without marriage. When the question of marriage came up in a March 2011 interview, she mused that it might not be for her.

Rashida cited how “wildly happy” her “Monogamy” co-star Chris is with Jennifer and their two children despite not being married. The exact timeline of Chris and Jennifer’s relationship, specifically when they eventually married, is unclear. Some of the first images available of them are from an event for the actor’s film “Ira & Abby” on June 23, 2006.

However, between when Rashida revealed they were not married and 2014, the couple had tied the knot as Chris referred to Jennifer as his wife in an April 2014 interview.

Under the banner of Team Todd, a film production company Jennifer and her sister Suzanne Todd founded, the sisters produced multiple box-office hits such as the “Austin Powers” trilogy, “Must Love Dogs,” and Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.”

The high-powered producer was named the president of Pearl Street Films in August 2012, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon‘s production company. Via the press release, they stated:

“She is great at producing and developing material, and we believe that with her, we can take the company to the next level.”

The Pearl Street Films president was nominated for an Emmy for two years running for co-producing the Annual Academy Awards ceremony in 2017 and 2018. She got another Emmy nod for her work in “If These Walls Could Talk 2” in 2000.

The dad of two is already broadening their film knowledge by talking to them about Al Pacino and Marlon Brando.

With her sister Suzanne, she shares a 2002 Independent Spirit Award for best feature for “Momento.” She was also among the recipients of the Lucy Award in 2000.

Chris and Jennifer had two boys in less than two years together. Their first son, Milo Montgomery Messina, was born on May 31, 2008, and their second son, Giovanni Messina, came along on October 15, 2009.

The couple’s children are raised on a steady diet of classic films. While speaking about his kids in an interview in 2015, the actor hoped to someday show them “On the Waterfront” and “The Godfather.”

“I’m afraid to show them ‘Jaws’ because they’ll be scared of the water, but that’s a fun one,” he said, adding that he might be able to rewatch “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with his progeny soon.

The dad of two is already broadening their film knowledge by talking to them about Al Pacino and Marlon Brando. Chris does allow his kids to take control of the remote to watch their shows but claims he once captured their attention with an oldie:

“The other night, I put on ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ and they were mesmerized. My wife is a producer, so we talk about movies a lot, but they’ll have to wait till they are 18 to pursue anything in it if they are even interested. School plays are fine, though; otherwise, that’s about it.”

At seven, Milo already showed enthusiasm for his parents’ craft by writing scripts his family had to perform around the house. He wrote Chris the highly coveted (in their home) role of PooPoo Pig.

When the interviewer sounded skeptical about this revelation, the proud papa insisted, “Oh, it is an amazing role! I’m going to try and develop it.”